My name is Mr. Austin. I am a fairly new teacher here at Sand Ridge, this is my second year. I'm super excited to get to know each and everyone you. (And for all my students who I already know from last year I can't wait to get to know you better and have a fantastic time together). In this class we are going to do a lot of collaborative, presentational work. You are going to get in front of our class of about 40 and talk to them. Scary, I know! But we are going to work on how to overcome that fear and how to become good public speakers.
1. Respect.
2. Trust.
3. NO Phones/Electronics.
4. Keep it Appropriate.
5. Fail to Succeed.
6. Try your Best!
7. Be Kind
1. I need all my students to respect themselves, their peers, and me. If you give respect to these people we won't have any behavioral problems. I believe this is a basic rule that we can all agree on. We respect each other and ourselves.
2. Along with respect, I need all my students to trust themselves, their peers, and me. Speaking in front of a group can be very vulnerable, especially if it's sharing your opinion. So trust yourself that you can succeed and your voice has a place and matters. Then, trust your peers to respect that voice. And trust me that I won't judge you. You are an amazing individual. I am here to assess and help your speech.
3. This is a school-wide policy, details are further down.
4. We must be conscientious of what we are saying and what we are presenting. We will not use foul language or references. We will not be crass or rude. We will be respectful and our words and actions will reflect that.
5. I whole-heartedly believe that we need to change our conceptions on failure. Failure is a good thing. We cannot reach our highest successes without building on top of numerous failures. We will fail often in my class and we will applaud our failures. Because from such failures will our success grow.
6. To succeed we must fail, and to fail we must try. Effort is going to be crucial. I cannot help you and we can't have fun if you are not trying. Please put in the effort and I promise you will see great advances in your skill and abilities.
7. We all wish others would be kind to us but we don't always put in the little effort to be kind first. Kindness isn't something people should earn, it should be our default. We should treat everyone with kindness, especially those who don't treat us with it. Those are the people who most desperately need it.
GRADING:
The portal will be updated regularly and serve as grade and citizenship notification. Please allow extra time for updates when turning in late work. Grades will be earned according to the following scale.
Grading Scale:
90-100% =A
80-89% =B
70-79%=C
50-69%=D
<50%=F
MATERIALS:
Students are expected to come to class everyday with:
-CHARGED Chromebook
-lined paper or notebook
-pencil or pen
PLUG-IN EARBUDS:
YOU WILL ONLY USE your PLUG IN earbuds to watch teacher approved videos that are part of your Canvas Modules or to any other teacher instructed activity. There will not be any spare headphones available for students to borrow.
*Airpods and other wireless headphones are not allowed in any classroom. This is school-wide policy now. They must be kept out of sight and off your person.
CELL PHONE POLICY:
Students will not be permitted to use their cellphones in class. If a student needs to be contacted for an emergency situation, please call the front office and have your student called down to use the desk phone. We will follow the school’s cell phone policy as outlined in the Sand Ridge Jr High Student’s Handbook. Phones should be OFF (not on silent or vibrate) and in the student’s bag (not on their person). If a student's phone seen, or if a phone sounds in class, this will result in a loss of class participation points and potentially a demerit in citizenship for repeated offences. If we continue to have a problem we will need to implement the 3 Strike Policy.
1st Strike - The students’ cellphone will be confiscated and will be returned to the student at the end of the class that same day. Parents will be notified via email the day of the strike.
2nd Strike - The students’ cellphone will be confiscated and will be returned to the student at the end of that same school day. Students may collect their cell phones before 3:00 PM in our classroom. Any phones left after this time will be waiting for the student in the front office. Parents will be notified via email the day of the strike.
3rd Strike - The students’ cellphone will be confiscated and will only be returned to the students’ parent or guardian. The cellphone will be taken to the front office promptly after school for parents to pick up from a member of administration. Parents will be notified via email the day of the strike.
Any offences thereafter may result in school suspension. Strikes do not reset and are accumulated for the entire year. Please help your students be responsible for their electronic devices.
OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES:
The 3 Strike Policy will apply to all other electronic devices in class, including unauthorized use of school assigned Chromebooks. We will be using our Chromebooks in this course. It will be made clear to students when they are allowed to have their Chromebooks out of their bags. If a student is using a Chromebook for any unauthorized activity during the times we are using our Chromebooks, they will gain an additional strike and their Chromebook will be confiscated.
PERMISSION:
It may be necessary to show video clips or films of educational merit and of a G or PG rating. It is understood that the student will be viewing video clips or films that are rated G or PG in part or whole, as part of the class curriculum. If any PG clips are shown in class a note will be sent home before hand to gain parental/guardian approval.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at
ziaustin@wsd.netI am so excited to teach you! The advantages of learning the basic principles of speech apply to all fields of professional and social life. You will learn how to speak with more confidence and to present yourself in a way that will help you gain support from an audience or group.
We are going to have such great fun in this class and learn life lessons in the process! Get ready!
